Article hanger



April 4, 1967 L, w. GUNZBERG 3,312,379

ARTICLE HANGER Filed March 8. 1966 I NVEN TOR.

A w/zJEA/cf WGUNZBERG MSL@ A TTO/QNYS.

United States Patent O 3,312,379 ARTICLE HANGER Lawrence W. Gunzberg, Buffalo, N.Y., assignor to M. Wile & Company, Inc., Buffalo, N.Y. Filed Mar. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 532,797 1 Claim. (Cl. 223-96) This invention relates generally to a garment hanger and in particular to a new and useful trouser hanger constructed in a manner to automatically secure and retain trousers without manipulation of the hanger.

Present garment hangers and in particular, trouser hangers, usually provide a horizontal bar over which trousers are laid with the opposite ends thereof hanging on opposite sides of the bar. To hang trousers utilizing this type of hanger, requires considerable time and manipulation :to fold and lay the trousers over the bar in a manner to avoid creasing the trouser material. Other trouser hangers grip the lower or cuffed ends of the trouser between clamps.

However, in the latter case, the trousers must be positioned and held between the clamps while the hanger is manipulated in a certain manner to effect the clamping action. Since merely holding trousers in proper position ready for hanging normally requires both hands, no free hand is available to manipulate the clamps on the hanger. The cumbersome and inconvenient mode of using trouser hangers of this general type is well known.

Moreover, once hung on a hanger, :trousers will sometimes slip and fall therefrom by their own weight. Thus, hanging trousers, at best, is an awkward and clumsy maneuver oftentimes providing only tenuous securement and often resulting in wrinkled trousers. In the clamp type of hanger the release of the trousers from the hanger is attended with similar manipulative difficulties.

The foregoing difficulties are magnified in clothing factories where large numbers of trousers are repeatedly placed on and taken from hangers. Secure, rapid and uniform support of each pair of trousers is essential to eicient and low-cost production in large quantities. Ideally, trousers should be hung in a minimum of time with a minimum of handling and without manipulation of the hanger.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to .provide a garment hanger constructed in a manner to automatically secure and retain a garment without manipulation of the hanger. A hanger embodying the principles of the present invention includes a support with downwardly converging side portions terminating in a restricted opening at its lower end and a roller member disposed between the converging side portions in such a way that the roller automatically clamps the garment to one side portion or the other upon release of the garment after insertion thereof upwardly through the opening and between the rol-ler member and the one side portion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger constructed in a manner such as to increase the -garment holding and retentive pressure in response to 'any tendency of the garment to slip from the hanger. The aforesaid roller member tends to wedge further into the restricted opening as the garment tends to slip downwardly between the roller member and the side portion and thereby increasingly bears against lthe garment and the side portion providing greater garment retaining pressure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide la 4garment hanger and in particular a trouser hanger adapted to secure and retain trousers of varying trouser widths and whether cuifed or not. The present construction eliminates the particu-lar size, shape, weight and other trouser variables as critical factors in hanging trousers.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide .a garment hanger having the garment securing and retaining parts thereof acting on the garment in a manner which avoids creasing or otherwise wrinkling the trouser material.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger and in particular a trouser hanger constructed in -a manner -wherein minimal time is required to associate the trousers with the hanger. The construction is such as to require grasping only the side margins at the lower ends of the trousers, inserting the intermediate portions thereof upwardly into the h-anger, and releasing the trousers, all of which steps may be performed very rapidly and eciently.

Various other novel features and advantages inherent in 4the garment hanger construction of the present invention are pointed out in detail in conjunction with the following description and accompanying drawing of a typical embodiment of the present invention. It is to be understood that such embodiment is by way of example only and to illustrate the principles of the present invention, the scope of which is limited only as defined in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

FIG. l is a side elevational view of one form of garment hanger embodying the principles of the present invention and showing trousers suspended therefrom with a portion thereof shown in cross section for added illustration.

FIG, 2 is a transverse cross sectional view thereof taken about on line II-II of FIG. 1 and showing the trousers supported in the h-anger.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown a garment hanger of the present invention generally designated 10 having a support frame 11 suspended from a supporting hook 12 together with a pair of trousers supported therefrom and designated T. Support frame 11 comprises a pair of longitudinal-ly spaced support brackets generally designated 13 which depend from a connecting bar 14, the brackets having open facing sides and being secured to bar 14 at opposite ends thereof by rivets 15 or the like. Supporting hook 12 comprises a conventional wire hanger hook with the lower end thereof passing through a central opening in bar 14. Washers 16 are disposed on hook 12 on opposite sides of bar 14 with the upper washer rigidly secured to hook 12. The lower end of hook 12 is peened at 17 below the lower washer thereby connecting hanger frame 11 with hanger hook 12 for suspending the former from the latter for free pivotal movement.

Each bracket 13 comprises a channel member 18 having downwardly converging side walls 19 forming a lower transversely restricted opening for purposes as will presently appear. The lower ends of side walls 19 flare outwardly as shown in FIG. 2. Each channel member is closed at its upper end by a wall portion 21 through which rivets 15 pass, connecting brackets 13 to bar 14. The intermediate portion of each channel member bet-Ween side w-alls 19 forms an end retaining wall 22 integral with side walls 19 and wall portion 21. Each end wall 22 has a vertical slot 23 which corresponds in width with the restricted lower opening between the side walls.

Each bracket 13 forms an inwardly facing cavity which receives an end of a roller 25 which is preferably provided with a yieldable cover, in the present instance of rubber. Roller 25 has a diameter larger than the width of the restricted opening .at the lower .portion of each bracket 13 to retain the roller within the cavities formed by the brackets.

In use roller 25 seats between the side wall portions 18 adjacent the lower restricted opening 20 in each bracket. The trouser ends are wider than the hanger as appears from FIG. 1.

Thus the outer portions of the lower ends of the trousers `are grasped by the user and the medial portion is moved upwardly into slots 23 whereupon they push roller 25 upwardly until it deflects to one side or the other and rests between the trousers and one pair of side lwalls 19. Upon release of thev trousers they engage 4frictionally against the roller 25, tending to move it downwardly, so that the trousers are wedged between the roller and a pair of side walls 19 as shown in dot and dash lines in FIG. 2. In order to release a pair of trousers from the hanger it is merely necessary to push upwardly against the exposed medial portion of roller 25 and the trousers will fall free of the hanger.

It is apparent from the foregoing that I have fully accomplished my intended objects and have provided a garment hanger which does not require manipulation of the hanger per se Lto hold a pair of trousers. Moreover, the hanging is accomplished by simply grasping the marginal portionsl of the trousers adjacent their ends and inserting the ends intothe hanger frame with the hanger automatically retaining the `trousers upon release of the marginal portions. Additionally, I have provided a trouser hanger which increases in holding and retenture strength as the trousers tend to slip yfrom the hanger.

While `the device of the present invention is described abovein connection with hanging trousers or other `garments, it is to be understood that applicant claims the device for use'in hanging any other relatively at articles which may be similarly suspended.

I Claim:

A garment hanger comprising a generally horizontal elongated support having a pair of depending longitudinally spaced vertically elongated end brackets at the ends thereof, said brackets yeach having opposed converging vside portions generally symmetrical on opposite sides of the horizontal elongated support with the lower ends of said side portion being flared outwardly to form a restricted garment receiving opening adjacent the lower end thereof, said brackets each including an end-retaining wall extending inwardly lfrom the side edges of said side portions, each end-retaining wall having a vertically extending slot formed therein, a roller member extending between said brackets and disposed between said side portions, said roller member having a diameter greater than the width of said openings and the width of each vertically extending slot whereby said roller member seats in a lowermost position against said side portions above said openings, said roller member being movable upwardly upon insertion of a garment upwardly between said converging side portions whereby said rol-ler falls between said gar- `ment and either side portion of said hanger to retain said garment against the other side portion by wedging action, said roller member being accessible through the space between said end brackets to move the roller u-pwardly to release said garment, and suspension means for horizontal elongated support.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,417,009 5/1922 Woodward 223-91 2,23 8,519 4/1941 Drake 223-96 2,396,751 3/1946 Resnick 211-124 2,605,030 7/1952 Fischer 223-88 2,645,351 7/1953 London 211-7 3,168,954 2/1965 Herrmann 211-50 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner. 

